Singer Sonu Nigam, who is returning to the singing-based reality show “Indian Idol” as a judge, says people tend to glorify the past and criticise the music of the present generation. But he believes that good and bad content in music always exists in every era.
In recent times, a lot of songs have been recreated in India. But Nigam says there is “enough original content” as well.
He said: “I think people tend to glorify the past and criticise the present. That is a very wrong thing to do. If you only criticise the present music scenario, then you are constantly questioning the young talent. Enough original content has been made in recent times that is brilliant. Music companies are creating remixes of old songs to reach out to the young listeners.”
He added: “The music business has changed. Doing remixes is a part of business. If they own an old song and they want the new generation to reconnect with that through its remix version, it is okay.”
Apart from being a celebrated singer, Nigam, who started his television career in 1995 by hosting a music-based show “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa”, joined “Indian Idol” as a judge in 2004.
What made him return to the show after 12 years’
He said: “I have been a part of different shows, but one of the reasons I am coming back to ‘Indian Idol’ is my co-judges and friends – Farah Khan and Anu Malik. We understand each other’s point of view and can bring out the best talent. In addition, I started judging new talent from ‘Indian Idol’. Therefore, this is a special show for me.”
There is huge potential in the new crop of singers, he says.
“This year our focus is completely on talent. All of them are singing well, they were born with a certain voice quality, which is great. All I would like to suggest to them is ‘Don’t just sing, but enact the song like Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi and other legends. The more you understand the expression of the lyrics and bring it out through singing, the better singer you will become.”
“Indian Idol” will premiere on Saturday on Sony Entertainment Television.
